Share

News

Pachyderm Pool Paddle

Num-Oi’s five -day-old calf is doing so well that Keepers decided yesterday that they would refill the shallow pool and give him a chance to paddle in it today.

They waited until they were satisfied that he was sufficiently steady on his feet to have his first pool paddle experience.

Senior Keeper Dave McKelson said in that it would be up to new mother Num-Oi as to whether she would allow the calf to wade in the shallow pool.

When she waded in herself, the calf was right at her heels.

While Num-Oi snacked on bananas and watermelon, the calf waded around her feet, underneath her, looking quite confident as he experienced the pool for the first time.

He even lay right down in the water at one point, briefly submerging himself.

Since the calf is making such good progress, the visitor viewing time has been extended.

There are now two viewing periods for visitors who would like to see the calf and Num-Oi:

The first viewing time is 11:00am to 12:30pm

The second viewing time is 2pm to 3pm

Please note: viewing times may change due to extreme weather conditions or based on the calf needing more nap time.

You can help FightExtinction

Together we can improve animal care, reduce threatening processes and save endangered species.

Act!

Adopt

Asian Elephants in the wild have been poached for their tusks and populations have dwindled. Melbourne Zoo has been successful in breeding four calves in recent years. You can help us fight extinction by adopting the Asian Elephant.